The 30th season of the CU Wizards series at the University of Colorado at Boulder will begin Sept. 23 with a show featuring an imploding 50-gallon steel drum and Beethoven's "Ode to Joy" played with a drill and wooden sticks.
Michael Dubson, a senior instructor in the CU-Boulder physics department, will present the free program "Boom! The Physics of Sound and Air Pressure" at 9:30 a.m. in room G1B30 of the Duane Physics building.
During the show, the audience will learn how sound waves are made, what air pressure is and what makes some sounds "musical."
Other highlights of the show include a re-creation of the Hindenburg disaster using artificial lightning, a sonic boom created with a bullwhip and a hearing test for the audience.
The show is the first of the 2006-07 season of CU Wizards, a series that runs monthly from September to June and features presentations on astronomy, chemistry and physics. Though intended primarily for students in grades five through nine, the Saturday shows are educational and entertaining to people of any age.
Free parking for CU Wizards is available in campus lots 169, 308, 396 and 436. A nominal fee is charged for parking at the Euclid Avenue Autopark.
For information about CU Wizards call (303) 492-5011 or visit the Web site at .